Camsur! What can I say? This is my A race for the season and I really have a LOT of expectations. Left LA on Tuesday night after 2 hours of flight delay and arrived in Manila Thursday AM. Waited couple more hours then moved to another terminal to catch the local flight. Arrived at Legaspi around noon where we were greeted by a band and friendly pinays handing out sampaguita necklace. I have to say that I felt like a pro with the hospitality. Jumped on the bus for another 2 hour drive to Camsur complex where I met Princess the race organizer, Joe the 30-34 age grouper from Austria and the race lead Marshal. The next couple of days went by fast. There were so many things to do with so little time. Fast forward to race day.

Swim: This is my first non wetsuit – mass start swim. The swim consists of two lakes with a 100 m run in between. The first lake is clockwise while the second is counter clockwise. I’ve decided to stay at the front far right since it’s the shortest path – ROOKIE MISTAKE. Gun goes off and we started running in the water. The first 300 meters was a total chaos. It’s either you are getting elbowed or jumped on. The pack thinned out after the turnaround. This is where I decided to go far left where there’s less action. Finished the first lake then off to the second. The second lake was way better with zero bumping and elbowing. Half way through the swim I saw a pink cap which started 5 minutes after my group. Tried to hang with her but she’s just way too fast for me. Finished the swim in 38:47 minutes.

T1 : Looked at my watch after the swim and saw that I was off target by 3 minutes so I rushed to T1 , put on my glasses, Helmet then took off. Had my shoes mounted on the bike so I got out of T1 in 2:35,

Bike: First half of the bike was pretty smooth. I was able to get into the rhythm as soon as I hit Pili rd. Kept looking at my Garmin and tried to keep my heart rate below 170 since I’m expecting the bike portion to be fairly hot and humid. The entire 56 m was absolutely amazing. There’s music, kids, manong, manang out cheering. Basically it’s like a fiesta and all eyes are on us. The road was flat until you hit mile 16 and mile 39 where there is an incline but nothing to steep. My nutrition plan in Vineman was the best I’ve had so far so I decided to follow the same approach. I carried two bottles with 400 calories each and just grab water at the aid station. All of a sudden the rain started pouring 5 miles before the turn around. The roads are wet so cornering by leaning your body is a recipe for disaster. I pressed my brakes a few meters before the corner so I can get a smooth turn. Come to find out walang grip. What the XXXX? That’s when I realized that carbon brake surface and water is not a good combination. That turned out to be the highlight of the day. I felt like a grandpa riding a bike cruiser on every turn. There’s not a lot until you get inside CWC. Bike Split 2:35:21

T2: No fancy dismount this time. I ran or should I say walked with my cycling shoes. Out in 2:10. Now I’m 8 minutes behind schedule.

Run: The run was uneventful might be because I already know that in order to hit my 4:50 target I would have to run below 7:30 pace. I pushed it as far as I can regardless. Heck, if I’m going to travel thousands of miles to race the least I can do is set a new PR. Finished the run in 1:51

Total time was 5:09 which is a minute better than Vineman 70.3. Finished 16/133 in the 30-34 AG. Roman finished in 9th place with a time of 4:49. Therefore, my target time of 4:50 is not good enough for a ticket to Kona. Pa Consuelo ko nalang yon J

Went into this race with two things in mind – nail my nutrition and run the half marathon.

Swim – The swim was a floating start and I positioned myself right in the middle. Gun went off and was able to get into the rhythm quickly. Draft behind couple of MOP guys on the first 12 -15 minutes until their pace slowed down. I moved in the front and kept on sighting the turn buoy. The turn buoy is shallow area so I stood up, took a few steps and checked my watch – 19 minutes. It wasn’t the split

I was looking for but I still have another .6 mile to catch up plus the current is now working with me. Two guys from the wave behind me passed by looking strong so I tried to swim with them but my attempt was futile. Went on my own pace and finished the swim in 35:24.Target time was 36 minutes.

Ayos, all that early morning swim paid off.

Thanks to Coach Mac for the drills and Dayo brothers for introducing intervals.

Nutrition: Bottle of EFS with Carbo Pro (200 Calories) before the start

Bike – My goal on the bike is to keep a steady pace, take my nutrition on time and don’t crash. The first 40 miles was rolling hills and I was able to keep a 21+ mph average until I hit chalk hill. That’s when I went from double digit speed to single digit. I grabbed a water bottle at the first aid station to wash down my hands, handle bar and face. Combining EFS with Carbo pro creates a super goeey substance. Parang may libag na ayaw matangal! Felt good throughout the bike course. No cramps, kept aero position 90% of the time and NO bottles lost this time. Bike split was 2:37 – 21.3mph. Target time was 2:30.

Holy moly, I’m coming off the bike with a 7 minutes deficit and I have my least favorite of the 3 up next.

Run: Ok, so here’s where the fun starts. Ran the first 3 miles at a sub 8 pace and my legs are feeling great. Had to stop at porty potty at mile 3 to take a leak and that’s when my quads starts tightening. Mile 4 – 9 was a sub 9 pace. Not exactly what I have in plan but my quads took a beating on those downhill. The run course is rolling with about a mile of dirt. Saw some familiar faces along the way and started throwing high fives. Mile 10, 11, 12 are 9:07, 9:15, 9:18 respectively. Those are majority downhill but I wasn’t able to take advantage of it. I can feel stabbing pain on my quads on every step. I know at this point I wasn’t going to be able to break 5 hours so I relaxed, enjoyed the race and cheered fellow FAT’s who are starting their run. Finished the run in 1:51. Target time was 1:40. Can’t quit my day job soon!

Thanks to Nori for all the track work out. We got a long way to go but the return is there given the limited time we put on it.

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Camsur! What can I say? This is my A race for the season and I really have a LOT of expectations. Left LA on Tuesday night after 2 hours of flight delay and arrived in Manila Thursday AM. Waited couple more hours then moved to another terminal to catch the local flight. Arrived at Legaspi around noon where we were greeted by a band and friendly pinays handing out sampaguita necklace. I have to say that I felt like a pro with the hospitality. Jumped on the bus for another 2 hour drive to Camsur...
read more..

Went into this race with two things in mind – nail my nutrition and run the half marathon.
Swim - The swim was a floating start and I positioned myself right in the middle. Gun went off and was able to get into the rhythm quickly. Draft behind couple of MOP guys on the
read more..